Residents hoping to see off a housing development on former allotments in South View look to have had their hopes dashed.
Plans to build 40 houses and a park, despite strong opposition and petitions from residents, was given the go-ahead at a cabinet meeting on July 27.
Norden ward councillors have questioned the legality of the plans. Cllr Paul Harvey said that any former allotment site needs to be decommissioned by the Secretary for State before building can begin, and then only if there is no further use for the site.
He said that Norden currently has an allotment waiting list of 61 people and over 500 in Basingstoke, which would prevent the land being decommissioned.
However, the council has said that this is not set in stone and the former allotments can be decommissioned as long as other provisions are made around Basingstoke.
Cabinet Member for Communities, Sport and Leisure Cllr Clive Sanders said: “It does not make sense to have all the allotments in the borough in one place. In some areas of the borough there is no provision for allotments and this is something we are intending to address.
“We have a long list of people wanting allotments, which demonstrates the need to provide more allotments throughout the borough rather than providing additional ones in an area that already has several.
“We need to have a strategic approach to providing allotments and not deal with things on an adhoc basic and that is exactly what we are looking to develop.”
In response, Cllr Paul Harvey said: “We have not been giving our residents false hope in anyway. They need to show they have areas to offer, and I ask where are they hiding these sites?”
